A research team from Japan has developed an integrated, high-speed and on-chip blackbody emitter based on graphene. The team reports that the device operated in NIR region including telecommunication wavelengths. A fast response time of ~ 100 ps, which is ~ 105 higher than the previous graphene emitters, has been experimentally demonstrated for single and few-layer graphene, the emission responses can be controlled by the graphene contact with the substrate depending on the number of graphene layers.

An interesting project under the H2020 initiative is GRAPHENART – focused on examining graphene as an anti-fading agent for the protection of artworks. The project, funded at about €150,000, started at October 2017 and will go on until March 2019.

Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universität Ulm have defined the mechanism on which the wet chemical synthesis of graphene from graphite is based. They succeeded in solving the basic problem of how to separate an individual layer of graphene from a graphite crystal.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a solution to a problem that has been setting back commercialization of a new kind of batteries. Lithium-metal batteries can take up to 10 times more charge than conventional lithium-ion batteries, but have not yet been commercialized due to the fact that lithium is deposited unevenly on the electrodes while charging and discharging. This buildup cuts the lives of these batteries too short to make them viable, and more importantly can cause the batteries to short-circuit and catch fire.

Scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics in China have developed a ‘smart’ wallpaper based on highly flexible fire-resistant inorganic paper embedded with ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires that serve as the substrate and graphene oxide as the thermosensitive sensor.